My Spare Time Enjoyment

Really enjoying the field collecting, cutting and tumbling of many materials........way cheaper than RC and much more personal satisfaction....almost like building an RC from complete scratch, but not quite........and don't need no damn registration or license....lol

As soon as 'They' find out you're enjoying it and there's a dime in it for 'Them' registration and license will soon follow......

Oh, there are private property locations that charge a fee, like parking permits, for collection. But even many of the mining operations, if you seek and ask for permission first, they will allow you onto their waste (tailing) piles to collect.

Everything I've collected for the last year has been on either BLM land or open space Mojave Desert or Big Bear, San Bernardino County property. No fees or permits required....Just can't carry my guns unless I'm also hunting with a permit.......lol

I had a pal at school who had one of the rolling drums .... his hobby was rock polishing.

Always amazed me the colours and patterns once the outer layer was removed. If I remember correctly - it is a long time ago - he used to lacquer them after tumbling to keep the shine and colours.
Some he cut to create 'slices' ... then mounted ....

I had a pal at school who had one of the rolling drums .... his hobby was rock polishing.

Always amazed me the colours and patterns once the outer layer was removed. If I remember correctly - it is a long time ago - he used to lacquer them after tumbling to keep the shine and colours.
Some he cut to create 'slices' ... then mounted ....

Mother Nature has some amazing shows if people go out to look.

Nice one.

Nigel

Here's a few pic's of local material shaped and polished.....:

Common Opal & Calcite......soft stone, difficult to polish to a glass finish.

Only "cheaters" use a lacquer (to achieve a shiny, glass finish look) on 99% of most mineral or stone material......if prepared properly and cycled with the right grinding and polishing compounds, almost any stone of a 4mohs to 9mohs scale hardness can be polished.

After cutting and sanding, I use a rotary type tumbler to grind down the stones in a 60/80 silicon carbide grit compound.........after that, I use a bowl type vibrating tumbler with finer Sic until they are ready to polish. I use various Alumina Oxide compounds (depending on the stone), to achieve the glassy polish, which stays with the stone forever (unless one decides to play catch with them at the beach).....lol

It's a time consuming affair, but well worth the effort, especially if giving as gifts or displaying them to those who appreciate Mother Natures wonders....!

Bureau of Land Management.....another Government agency, a child agency of the Dept of Interior.....

The BLM out here, has passed legislation (outside of historical and native peoples land) that allows collecting without fee. Especially in mining zones. Rock hounding out here is bigger than RC and provides a decent economic base for many jewelry manufactures (for profit or hobby).......I did not realize that until I got into it.......have no intentions to operate at a scale for profit, to much competition and time commitment.

I also collect in Utah with my son. Another mineral and stone haven. Again, the same policies and BLM legislation exist there......and rock hounding is even bigger there than in California....In fact, mining there is the States 3rd or 4th biggest economic base.

We can find Amber on the Baltic beaches ... basically because of all the Pine forests ..

I remember in Saudi Arabia ... it was illegal to take the Desert Rose ... a rose like formation of sand and other minerals .... I believe usually after evaporation of a shallow basin ...
We actually had a beautiful specimen in our Office - and it really did look like a Tea Rose.